MANILA, Philippines – Melinda Rose Woodward, Tom Jones's wife, has died of cancer. They have been married for 59 years.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RIP Lady Linda, wife of Sir Tom Jones <a href="https://t.co/mRXOzwZTjq">pic.twitter.com/mRXOzwZTjq</a></p>— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) <a href="https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/719492660717862912">April 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The British singer, whose real name is Thomas Jones Woodward, announced on his Facebook page that his wife had died after "a short but fierce battle with cancer." She was 75.
She was in the company of her husband and loved ones when she passed away at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, USA. They "asked for privacy at this difficult time," and provided no further details.
{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/SirTomJones/posts/10154007858500772" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/SirTomJones/posts/10154007858500772"><p>Sir Tom Jones' wife of 59 years, Lady Melinda Rose Woodward, passed away Sunday morning, April 10, after a short but...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SirTomJones/">Tom Jones</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SirTomJones/posts/10154007858500772">Monday, 11 April 2016</a></blockquote></div></div>{/source}
According to his autobiography, Over the Top and Back, which was cited by British daily The Guardian, Jones fell in love with Woodward when they were both in school at the age of 12. They married in 1957.
In an interview with The Guardian, Tom Jones said, "I’ve never had the feeling that I have with my wife Linda with anyone else."
"When I met her I wanted to hold her for as long and often as possible," he continued. "I don’t think you do find that more than once."
The two have a son, Mark, who is also the singer's manager.
About their marriage that lasted for more than five decades, he said, "Our marriage has lasted because we have the same childhood memories and Welsh sense of humor, which is slightly sarcastic – no bullsh*t."
Jones was previously in Manila for a concert last April 2, but had to cancel at the last minute, citing "serious illness in his immediate family." – Rappler.com